The adsorption capacity increases with increasing temperature, mainly because the rate of diffusion, both internal and external, increases with increasing temperature. Uranium is an actinide element that is widely used in most nuclear reactors and is an important contributor to nuclear waste. The surface functional groups of GO-based nanoparticles are primarily responsible for their strong uranium adsorption. Because of the variety of functional groups on GO-based nanomaterials, the effect of different functional groups on uranium adsorption is unknown. Here, researchers attempt to correlate the adsorption parameters of materials with the adsorption of uranium. In general, sorption parameters provide information on the mechanisms involved in the adsorption process. Thermodynamic parameters, such as the Gibbs free energy change (ΔG), enthalpy change (ΔH), and the entropy change (ΔS), were calculated from temperature-dependent sorption data. The sorption of radionuclides onto GO-based materials is an endothermic and spontaneous process. The sorption of uranium on GO is influenced by the solution conditions, ionic strength, experimental conditions, pH, and temperature. Because of the thermodynamic parameters at different concentrations of the GO adsorbate and the U adsorbent, finding a correlation between entropy and enthalpy is not reasonable. In general, enthalpy–entropy compensation is present only when ∆G0 is constant. Changes in Gibbs free energy and entropy were estimated based on temperature-dependent equilibrium constants.
2.3. CO2 Capture
Graphene oxide can effectively remove gaseous contaminants in a manner similar to that of contaminant removal from water. Graphene oxide has been previously investigated for its potential in CO2 capture and its electrochemical, thermal, or photocatalytic reduction to CO. The resulting CO, CH3OH, CH2O, HCOOH, and C3H8O were used as precursors for fuel and chemicals. Like the removal of impurities from water, GO can remove gaseous contaminants. Graphene-based materials are known for their potential in CO2 capture and their electrochemical or photocatalytic reduction to CO.
Under powerful adsorption/desorption conditions, rGO can be used as an adsorbent for volatile organic compounds (at ppm levels)
[16][17]. The adsorption capacity of graphene oxide is increased with increasing temperature, pressure, interlayer distance, and the addition of nitrogen compounds. As a most striking example, nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NRGO) exhibited the highest specificity for CO
2, with 3.81295232 (g·g
−1 ) maximum specific absorbance of 3.81295232 g·g
−1 and a specific surface area of 9916.88239 m
2/g
[18].
The performance of graphene oxide can be improved by decorating it with catalytic nanomaterials
[19]. Moreover, to improve the governing factors influencing the removal efficiency, surface chemistry can be improved by decorating the GO surface with reactive nanomaterials. Several metals and metal oxides exhibit excellent bandgap, electrical conductivity, and stability under experimental conditions. CO
2 capture can be greatly influenced by catalyst, catalyst carrier, and integration strategies. Different nanoparticles with catalytic properties can be used for CO
2 capture, such as copper
[20].
The photocatalytic reduction of CO
2 requires several electron transfers and can produce a wide range of products depending on the precise reaction pathway adopted and the number of electrons transferred, which determine the final oxidation state of the carbon atom. The photocatalytic reduction of CO
2 can be achieved using various metal composites. Graphene has shown potential as an effective electron acceptor and transporter for photocatalytic CO
2 reduction and reduces photogenerated charge carrier recombination. A study demonstrated the photocatalytic reduction of CO
2 in methanol (CH
3OH) and methane (CH
4) using silver chromate (Ag
2CrO
4) nanoparticles as photosensitizers and graphene oxide (GO) as cocatalysts. They concluded that, as a cocatalyst, GO assisted in charge transfer and improved CO
2 adsorption and catalytic sites
[21]. TiO
2 and its photocatalytic ability to reduce CO
2 have been extensively studied. Due to its extensive 3.2 eV band gap and excellent efficient photoactivity, high stability, and low cost, graphene oxide can be used for excellent CO
2 reduction
[22]. A vertically aligned TiO
2 nanostructure-wrapped GO/rGO layer were used for the photocatalytic reduction of CO
2 to CO. The unique morphology with graphene oxide as a cocatalyst combined with TiO
2 as a photocatalyst resulted in a maximum CO yield of 1348 μmol/g (
Figure 2C)
[23]. Indrajit et al. synthesized GO-Cu nanocomposites via a one-pot microwave process. The compound developed has a strong interaction between copper nanoparticles and graphene oxide, which helps to produce higher CO
2 of approximately 6.84 μmol/g
cat−1h
−1 for the reduction of photocatalytic CO
2 under visible-light irradiation
[24] (
Figure 2A). Solvothermal methods and subsequent photochemical deposition have been used to successfully create Ag-RGO-CdS nanocomposites. Zezhou et al. implemented Ag-RGO-CdS for the catalytic conversion of CO
2 to CO in a photocatalytic system with TEOA as a hole scavenger. As a result, 1.0 wt.%-Ag3.0 wt% RGO-CdS presents the highest photocatalytic performance of 1.61 μmol/h in comparison with bare CdS nanorods (0.21 μmol/h) (
Figure 2B)
[25]. Deerattrakul et al. synthesized Cu-Zn/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) catalysts by incipient wetness impregnation and estimated the hydrogenation of CO
2 to methanol using a fixed-bed tubular stainless-steel reactor. As a result, 424 mg
MeOH g
cat−1h
−1 of methanol was obtained at 250 °C with a loading content of 10 wt% Cu-Zn metals on rGO
[26]. In general, a catalytic system requires an additional sacrificial donor for the photoreduction of CO
2, resulting in efficient fuel generation from CO
2. To overcome this, Tingting et al. synthesized nitrogen-doped graphene (Gr–CuC) for CO
2 in methanol under visible-light irradiation
[27].
Figure 2. Mechanism of CO
2 reduction in GO metal hybrids: (
A) Cu
[24]; (
B) Ag-Cds
[25]; (
C) TiO
2 [23].
Similarly, to minimize the overpotential of CO
2 reduction, electrocatalysts are needed in the catalytic process known as electrocatalysis, which involves reactions of oxidation and reduction by the direct transfer of electrons. The electrocatalytic CO
2 reduction reaction (CO
2RR) is an inner-sphere process in which adsorption and bond rearrangement, as well as reaction intermediates, take place inside the inner Helmholtz region (IHR). Several studies have been conducted to develop graphene oxide–metal hybrids with increased CO
2 reduction activity. Additionally, it was discovered that the rGO and CO
2 molecules interact via a π–π conjugation, which is crucial for facilitating adsorption and activating CO
2 molecules on the catalytic surface. Zhirong et al. synthesized porous In
2O
3 nanobelt-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) catalysts. To better understand the CO
2 reduction mechanism, DFT calculations were performed and compared with the experimental results. The results revealed that In
2O
3–rGO reduced CO
2 electroreduction by improving electrical conductivity and stabilizing the key intermediate HCOO
–*
[28]. Strong metal support contacts primarily contribute to improved electrochemical CO
2 reduction activity by improving interfacial electron transfer ability, according to experimental kinetic data. Zhang et.al., used rGO supported gold nanoparticles for electro catalytic reduction of CO
2 [29]. A lone pair of nitrogen electrons interacts with transition metal complexes to form composite materials
[30].
2.4. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
Interestingly, adaptable graphite has been utilized as an electromagnetic interference (EMI) protective material. The peeled graphite pieces were packed without fasteners to produce adaptable graphite sheets with a decent and large surface region. The EMI of adaptable graphite was estimated using the coaxial transmission technique at frequencies in the range of 1 to 2 GHz. The creators determined that the EMI SE of adaptable graphite was extremely high with this L-band recurrence. Regardless of its use for EMI safeguarding, adaptable graphite can also be utilized as an EMI gasket material because of its toughness. Given its high similarity to natural polymers, GO can be utilized as an engaging nanofiller in polymer nanocomposites, extensively developing the electrical, mechanical, and warm qualities of polymers. Furthermore, practical gatherings containing oxygen at the edges and bases of GO guide the expansion of the interfacial holding and the displacement of pressure from the polymer grid to polymer nanocomposites, resulting in polymer nanocomposites with prevalent support capacities
[31]. Xu et al. synthesized large-scale thermally reduced graphene oxide films with an EMI shielding potential and high conductivity of 500 S/cm. Furthermore, the synthesized rGO sheets exhibited an excellent EMI SE of 45–54 dB, with a film thickness of less than 0.1 mm
[32].
The exponential increase in the demand for electromagnetic interference shielding materials has led to the development of new shielding materials in recent years. Generally, an effective shielding material has three main functions: reflection, absorption, and multi-reflection. The high conductivity of graphene oxide (GO) makes it an ideal candidate for electromagnetic interference shielding. Multiple layers of graphene can hinder the optical transparency of a shielding material for applications in transparent films. Shi et al. proposed a cost-effective lithography technology to synthesize a four-layer graphene mesh with an even thickness. A uniform structure was achieved using an organic combination of microstructure patterning and continuous meshing. Compared to a two-layer graphene film, the four-layer graphene mesh showed a 1.26-time increase in absorption-based SE of 4.22 dB at 12–18 GHz, along with an improved transmittance efficiency of 95.26%
[33]. Using adsorption as the dominant shielding mechanism, CuS/RGO compounds without any reducing agent from copper (II) dithiooxamide (Cu–DTO) and GO as a precursor were obtained via the hydrothermal method. Mechanical constancy is the priority to be assessed for the persistence of mechanical deformation in real-life applications. Using CuS as a pseudo capacitor and rGO as a conductor, a shielding efficiency of 64 dB at 2.3 GHz was achieved
[34]. A novel nickel-foam-supported rGO(NI-rGO) foam was fabricated without any reducing agent. This foam is then pressed to a paper form by a hydraulic press at 20 MPa for 10 min, resulting in an RGN paper-like thin film by thermal annealing with a mechanical strain of 80% for 1000 cycles and enhanced shielding efficiency of 55 dB with 0.12 mm thickness, accompanied by a thermal conductivity of ≈247 W/(m·K)
[35]. A noteworthy work by Hui Jia et al., investigated a free-standing GO/Ag nanowire (40 nm) film that covers the X-band, Ku-band, K-band, and the Ka band with an EMI shielding efficiency of 62 dB with a material thickness of 8 mm. The positively charged 1D silver nanowire with proven EMI shielding efficiency also favored the formation of the 3D conductive network via the vacuum-assisted self-assembly route of fabrication. The GO/Ag-7L demonstrated outstanding 62 dB performance in a frequency range of 8–40 GHz. This result suggests that the Ag nanowire boosted the conduction and tunnelling in the 3D GO layer of electrons without compromising the strain value with 5000 bending cycles
[36]. FeNWs-rGO Fe
3O
4 nanowires were grown on rGO sheets using an in situ growth mechanism. The authors assembled Fe
3O
4 nanowires based on spatial confinement effects into vertical, parallel, and randomly assembled Fe
3O
4 NW onto the epoxy layer via an external magnetic field. Vertically aligned Fe
3O
4 NW showed an electrical conductivity of 37 S/m and improved shielding efficiency compared to parallel and randomly assembled Fe
3O
4 NW. This is due to charge accumulation from interfacial and dipole polarization by the hetero-interfaces formed by Fe
3O
4 NW-rGO. Moreover, increased polarization relaxation and dielectric loss, assisted by the external magnetic field, attenuate the EM wave
[37].
Using the dielectric loss and magnetic loss mechanism of magnetic metal nanocomposites, Zhongji et al. used a two-step approach for developing loaded iron-cobalt-nickel oxide (FeCoNiOx) onto poly-dopamine-reduced graphene oxide. The FeCoNiOx-PDA-rGO composite possessed a reflection loss value of −36.28 dB at a thickness of 6.5 mm. The reflection loss value is achieved by the dielectric loss capacity of a defective graphene surface, followed by the magnetic loss and dielectric loss mechanisms of metal and its oxides that help in the overindulgence of incident Em waves
[38]. Graphene oxide for ionizing radiation was explored earlier
[39][40]. Malinski et al. investigated the structural changes in irradiated GO surfaces with an energy of 40 keV using Au and GA ions and 500 keV helium and gallium ions. The irradiated GO foils were characterized by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), which showed fluence of ion implantation and deoxygenation with modification of the GO surface. They also found that the modification of the elemental composition of GO after irradiation with 500 keV helium and gallium ions is due to nonelastic nuclear stopping and a low degree of GO deoxygenation
[41][42].
2.5. Antimicrobial Activity
The innate antimicrobial properties of graphene oxide result from the physicochemical interactions of bacteria with oxygen-containing functional groups. This abundance of oxygen groups also assists in the hybridization of nanoparticles through electrostatic and coordinate approaches. AgNPs are known for an extensive range of antimicrobial studies against
E. coli and
S. aureus. Like graphene oxide, AgNPs also initiate cell death by damaging the cell membrane upon contact, producing reactive oxygen species, and interrupting ATP production. Stabilizing agents are typically used to prevent agglomeration and control its structure. Correspondingly, Mónica Cobos used an environmentally friendly approach to produce GO-AgNPs using a green reducing agent. GO-AgNPs were tested against
Escherichia coli,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the Gram-positive bacterium
Staphylococcus aureus. They concluded that the cytotoxicity of the nanohybrids depends on the smaller size of the silver particles, which have a larger surface area for bacterial interaction. Furthermore, nanoparticles induce dose- and time-dependent toxicity against all microorganisms, especially
C. albicans and
S. aureus, and were studied by Neto et al.
[43].
Silver nanoparticles have gained considerable attention because of their variety of applications such as antimicrobial and medical applications over the years. Although the antibacterial property of silver nanoparticles has been exploited, the prevention of biofilms is still unclear. To test the inhibition property of biofilms on stainless-steel material (SS) used in medical procedures, Saravia et al. studied the antimicrobial property of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO 1,
Escherichia coli (ATCC11229)
, Acinetobacter sp. (KM349193, NCBI-GenBank),
Bacillus cereus (ATCC 10876),
Staphylococcus sp., and
Kocuria rizophila using the Kirby–Bauer method.
P. aeruginosa and
K. rizophila showed a higher sensibility towards Ag-GO nanoparticles on the SS material
[44].
Moreover, the use of bimetallic nanoparticles with graphene oxide in the antibacterial field has recently been explored. Menazea et al. fabricated graphene oxide thin films decorated with silver and copper oxide nanoparticles. They prepared GO-Ag by adding AgNO
3 followed by NaOH to the water dispersion of GO and GO-CuO by adding CuCl
2.2H
2O followed by NaOH to the water dispersion. These nanoparticles were tested against
Escherichia coli, and
Staphylococcus aureus showed antibacterial inhibition comparable to that of
E. coli. Antibacterial activity was examined against both Gram-positive bacteria (
Staphylococcus aureus = S. aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (
Escherichia coli = E. coli) bacteria
[45]. Subsequently, they continued to experiment with the same composites using the pulse ablation technique. Silver and copper nanoparticles were embedded into GO thin films using the laser ablation technique and tested against
E. coli and
S. aureus. The experiment concluded that the inhibition zone was 10.2 ± 1.1 mm against
E. coli and 15.2 ± 1.6 mm against
S. aureus [46]. In addition to silver, metallic zinc and zinc oxide particles have antibacterial properties. Considering the enhanced antibacterial effects described earlier, the addition of metallic oxides and metallic oxide nanoparticles to the GO sheets improved the antibacterial activity. Additionally, ZnO nanoparticles have shown good antibacterial activity when bacteria encounter ZnO ions along with disruption of the cell wall.